21. Harper
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
harper
Rhone was sitting on the edge of my bed, tapping his foot harshly on the rug, when Bloom and I emerged from the bathroom. There was a door into the closet through it, so I'd gotten dressed already, putting on a pair of my bike shorts and a cropped t-shirt that said Make Me Howl.
I was pretty sure Bloom or Nolan had snuck that particular shirt in, because I couldn't imagine Rhone ordering it for me.
Maverick was leaning up against the wall near the door, with his hands in his pockets, eyeing Rhone like he was worried about the bastard.
He probably was.
Rhone had never wanted to take a mate. He only changed his tune when the alternative was me choosing someone else. And even then, he had never pretended he wanted to be with me. He was just uncomfortably possessive for an unknown reason.
Guess we knew the reason, now.
"I think we'd better go, Mav," Bloom said, attempting to sound upbeat. "Harper and Rhone need to talk."
Maverick looked at Rhone, and Rhone grunted.
"Alright, Sugar. Let's go," Maverick slipped an arm around her waist, and they stepped out of the room.
Leaving us alone.
Way too alone.
"Hey," I said.
Rhone clenched his jaw for a moment.
He didn't say hey back.
"Why did you bring me here, instead of to your apartment?" I asked.
"You live here."
I had lived in Rhone's apartment more than I'd lived in mine.
I… couldn't do this.
Not yet.
"Well, at least we know why you're possessive now." I didn't bother with an attempt to sound lighthearted. "I want to be alone. I need time to think about all of this."
Rhone blinked.
"I'm sure you need it too. You never wanted a mate," I reminded him.
"Right." He rose to his feet. "You can have time."
Just like that, he left the room.
I shut and locked the door behind him, knowing he'd be listening for the click.
Rhone was my mate.
He'd brought me to my place because he didn't want us to live together.
He was so fucking stubborn.
I was going to have to be more stubborn. Make a statement, somehow. Really piss him off.
I knew exactly how to do that.
After a few minutes had passed and I was sure he was gone, I opened the door to my apartment and plopped down on the floor.
Changing the code on the lock was easier, the second time around.
Oren came wandering down the hallway while I was finishing up. He sat down next to me.
I barely glanced his way. "Who sent you?"
"The gossip."
"Nolan, then."
"He's consoling a few heartbroken males who wanted to mate with you."
I rolled my eyes and continued working.
"Are you locking Rhone out of your apartment?" Oren asked.
"Yes. He barged in last night and refused to leave. I need to avoid a repeat."
"Why?"
"He wants us to live separately. Doesn't want to develop feelings."
"Didn't you just spend two weeks fucking him? And end up mated?"
"It was just sex. He made it very clear that when we came home, he wasn't mine anymore. The bite was all fate."
"I heard he offered to mate with you when you got back."
I looked at Oren. "Who is telling you these things? Rhone doesn't tell Nolan anything."
He mimed zipping his lips.
I refocused on the lock. The lights flashed, and the damn thing timed out.
Shit.
I started from the beginning.
"He only offered because he was too possessive to let me mate with someone else. He said he was doing it to keep me stable for Maverick's sake."
I finished with the keypad and started working on disconnecting it from the tower's security system the way I had with Rhone's, so no one could break into it that way.
"Rhone will come around. Most werewolves would enjoy being mated to a vampire. You saw how fast Bloom's list filled up."
"I didn’t."
"Harper, over half of the people she texted were interested in being mated to you."
"They don't even know me, so they don't know what a mate bond with me would be like."
"Nolan and I have been together a long time. They've all seen us enough to know what it's like. We hated each other at first, but the constant need for connection and blood is exciting for a stable immortal being like a werewolf. It keeps things lively."
I frowned at him. "You hated each other at first?"
"Of course we did. We met on a battlefield.
I was devolving, and Nolan was there to kill devolving vampires.
Instead, fate took over and forced him to bite me.
Nature made me bite him back. We were enemies with a sudden, intense mate bond.
We both nearly died half a dozen times while Nolan dragged me off the battlefield, writhing in pain. "
"What happened afterward?"
"Maverick was Nolan's general. He asked what Nolan wanted to do about me after the battle, and Nolan said he didn't want to kill his mate.
Mav sent us out to a cabin in the middle of nowhere to figure our shit out.
We couldn't stand each other. Snarled and fought constantly. But we fucked even more."
"Eventually, we came to a truce, and feelings started to grow. Maverick or Rhone came by to see how we were once a week or so. When they realized I'd never fully devolved, they put it together that wolf blood was keeping me stable."
"But it wasn't the wolf blood," I pointed out. "It was the mate bond."
Oren didn't say anything.
When I glanced over again, he looked... surprised. "Wolf blood is what brings a turned vampire back to sanity. We've tested it."
"How long was your longest unmated turned vampire stable for?"
"Four years."
Four years was a long time, but basically nothing when the alternative was immortality.
"Then wolf blood makes us sane, but a mate bond is the only thing that can really make us stable." I leaned against the doorframe, not entirely ready to go back into my apartment and be alone again.
"That might actually be true. I need to talk to Nolan and Maverick about it. Discuss what it could mean for Riley. We might need to warn the Wilder Pack that it's a possibility."
I nodded.
"What are you going to do about Rhone?" he asked, rising to his feet.
"Not sure. Locking him out will force him into a reaction of some kind."
"Am I allowed to suggest another option?"
"I guess."
Oren tucked his hands in his pockets. "Rhone's shit with feelings, but he's the most loyal asshole you'll ever meet.
Give him a chance to decide what he wants to do now that things have changed, and work with him.
You're a team now. I can't see him being anything other than the most obsessive, devoted mate you could ask for. I think he'll surprise you."
My chest burned a little with the words. "I hope you're right."
"You should give me the passcode, just in case," Oren said.
"I'll text it to Sutton again. She hates him too much to tell him unless there's an emergency."
Oren nodded. "Good luck."
"Thanks. I'll need it."
He walked down the hall.
I stayed where I was for a few minutes before I finally picked up my phone.
When I did, the screen flashed me a message that made me freeze.
Missed call from Neve
My mother.
She hadn't contacted me since I devolved.
Why was she reaching out now?
My immediate instinct was to call Rhone. Text him, at least. Ask him what I should do.
But he didn't know anything about my situation with my mom.
Bloom didn't know much, either. I'd always tried not to talk about it, and she'd never pushed. I was pretty sure she just thought my mom was unemotional and unattached.
Which was true.
It just wasn't the full truth.
Maverick obviously didn't know any more than Bloom or Rhone, but he was the Alpha. I needed to tell someone that she had contacted me, in case the pack could prevent another unnecessary death like Ozzy's.
So, I texted him.
Me
Neve tried to call me a few minutes ago
I didn't hear my phone ring when she called, so I didn't answer
My phone rang again.
Immediately.
It was Maverick, this time.
"What happened?" he barked, when I answered.
"Exactly what I just told you happened. I was talking to Oren, so I didn't hear my phone ring. When I looked down, I realized I'd missed a call from Neve."
"Did she text you afterward?"
"No."
"Did you call back?"
"No."
"Has there been any other contact or communication of any kind?"
"No."
Maverick let out a long breath. "Did you tell Rhone?"
I admitted, "No."
"Call him. Right now. I'll have two enforcers at your door in five minutes to bring you down to our tech center.
We're going to need you to call Neve back so we can try to trace it.
Rhone needs to know what's happening, and it'll go over a hell of a lot better if it comes from you, before it happens. "
"He hates phone calls."
"He'd hate finding out about this from me or someone else even more."
"Fine. I'll call him."
"Right now?"
"Right now."
"Thanks. See you in a few." Maverick hung up.
I stared down at my phone, and the missed call notification, for a solid ten seconds before I reluctantly called Rhone.
He answered right before it went to voicemail. "What?"
"Hello to you too," I grumbled.
"You said you wanted space and told me to leave," he growled back.
"I do, and I did." There was an awkward pause as I tried to figure out the best way to tell him.
I was eventually forced to accept that there was no good way to do it, and just went for it.
"Neve called me. I was talking to Oren and didn't notice my phone ringing, so I missed the call. Maverick wants me to call her back so someone can try to track her. He's sending enforcers to walk me to wherever I'm supposed to go, and he asked me to let you know so you don't freak out."
There was another pause.
This one was more tense than awkward.
"You called Mav when you needed help?" Rhone finally gritted out.
"He's the Alpha."
"I'm your mate."
"Not by choice."
Rhone didn't reply.
When I pulled my phone away from my ear and looked down, I realized he'd hung up.
Asshole.
I went back into the bathroom long enough to check if my hair looked fine before the enforcers showed up. It didn't.
They showed up before I had a chance to fix it, so I walked with them to the elevator despite my damp, tangled hair.
They were friendly, but not too friendly. Both of them had mate marks on the sides of their necks. I didn't recognize either of them, but they were vaguely familiar.
It didn't take long to reach the bottom floor, or the large tech room that took up a massive chunk of it. There were offices and dividers separating the space a little, but it was still gigantic and way too open.
I was taking a seat at the desk they gestured me toward when Maverick arrived. Bloom was with him.
Rhone was two minutes behind him, and didn't say a word as he glowered at all of the men around me.
They all took at least one step away from me.
"Do male werewolves still want to abduct their fated mate if they seal the bond right away?" Bloom murmured.
"Yup." Maverick didn't bat an eye at the question.
"What if both fated werewolves are male?" I asked.
"They abduct each other," one of the male enforcers answered. He had light skin and blonde hair. "They spend a few weeks locked away together. Usually end up mated long before it's over. My mate and I only lasted a few hours."
"What if they're both women?" Bloom asked.
"If we're interested in each other, one of us will abduct the other for fun. If not, we have an easier time staying apart afterward," a female enforcer explained. She had light brown skin and long, dark hair.
"What does it mean if a male werewolf doesn't abduct his mate?" I asked.
No one responded, but everyone exchanged looks.
"We're ready for the call." A female enforcer handed me my phone. I hadn't noticed her take it, but I'd set it on the desk, assuming someone would.
"Just act normal, and try to drag the conversation out if you can," Maverick instructed.
I glanced up at him. "Answer my question, first."
He grimaced. "Usually, if a male werewolf doesn't abduct his fated mate, it means he's not particularly interested in them. But Rhone did—"
I hit the button to call Neve, and put the call on speaker, so he cut himself off.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
No one said a word.
It kept ringing, until it finally went to voicemail.
I hit the button to end the call.
"Damn," Bloom sighed.
"I downloaded what I need to be able to track the call next time," the woman who had handed me my phone explained. "Just text the number I added to your contacts if you get another call. It’s labeled Tech Team."
I nodded.
"Try one more time," Maverick instructed.
I called again.
She didn't answer, again.
"Neve wouldn't have called just to check in," Bloom said. "What do you think she wanted?"
"I don't—" I started, but before I could finish, Rhone grabbed me by the waist, threw me over his shoulder, and strode out of the room.